“God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of teaching His Cause. Whoever ariseth to discharge this duty, must needs, ere he proclaimeth His Message, adorn himself with the ornament of an upright and praiseworthy character, so that his words may attract the hearts of such as are receptive to his call. Without it, he can never hope to influence his hearers.”
~Baha’u'llah
Praise worthy character is made manifest within the diversity of the human existence, this diversity being inclusive of ethnicity, nationality, religious affiliation, sex, and class. The essential element which we all share in common is that we are created, and the way in which we might celebrate such a fundamental commonality is through honoring one another. If we are all created, and the reason for our existence is to recognize and worship our Creator, and a means of doing so is through religion, then essentially religion is meant to unify souls, not elevate one creed while oppressing another. We are created to recognize the greatness and omnipotence of the Beloved, but we are also created to bear witness to the greatness of humankind, thus the beauty within each and every individual.
I spent the past three years of my life embracing such a philosophy at the International Community School in Decatur, GA. While the school is secular in name and definition, I consider it to be one of the greatest manifestations of Baha’i teachings I have witnessed thus far. The school itself is comprised of a 50% refugee and 50% American student population. The student and staff demographic represent over 40 countries world-wide and continues to celebrate exponential growth annually. The picture below is of one of my second grade students who is an Muslim Bosnian. In the palms of her two hands she cradles a lady bug, and in the moment during which I took this photo, I was struck by the symbolic nature it represented for the individual, the school, and the world at large. We all have hands and hope exists within each of them.
